FOODIE SONGS WRITING PROMPT
14 Springsteen Foodie Songs — Sort of
Bruce songs that might be about food and drink— if you squint
So Nichola Scurry has joined the august ranks of culprits who entice me into a musical writing prompt. Her excellent article that started all this is here:
So, in another blatant attempt to maintain my regular leadoff position in Paul Combs’ Favourite Articles of The Month list by writing about Bruce Springsteen, here are 14 foodie songs by The Man himself. Sort of.
1 The Pies That Bind
Bruce knows about life. He may not have been to an English football match but he understands all the same. Before the game, we drink lots of over-priced weak beer and eat pies full of gristle and fat. It’s what binds us together as fans. Bruce knows.
2 The Liver
Life can be tough, Bruce understands. When we were young, we didn’t have a lot of money and beef and lamb were expensive. Sometimes we had to eat the less palatable parts of the meat. Offal. Yuk.
But Bruce doesn’t shy away from singing about the less savoury aspects of some food. No, he faces it and relates. What a guy.
3 Brilliant These Fries
They may not be good for you but damn it they’re good. We call them chips in England but Bruce is from the USA so he says fries. They’re brilliant whatever you call them, especially wrapped in newspaper after a few beers. Bruce gets it.
4 Better Graze
Who doesn’t love to eat? Bruce has a song for everyone and everything and covers those of us who like to graze all day — fruit, nuts, bread, chocolate. Not liver though. Never liver.
5 Hungry Heart
I hope he’s not back to singing about offal. I’ll take the alternative meaning that he means his heart is hungry for more great food and wine.
6 House of a Thousand Caviars
Now he’s rich, he doesn’t have to eat liver or fries. No, Bruce is a multimillionaire dining on caviar every night. The working-class blue-collar thing is all an act. We don’t mind but we’d prefer he realises his fans can’t afford caviar. Or €1,000 for his concert tickets.
7 The Power of Pear
Bruce is back to handing out good advice on this one. Fruit is good for you and what can be more nutritious than a pear?
8 I’ll See You In My Custard Creams
When I was young, I loved custard creams. Who didn’t? Two crunchy biscuit layers with a sweet vanilla cream filling. But of course, Bruce uses metaphors and the custard cream is about seeing your lost childhood inside the cream filling.
On the other hand, maybe he just likes custard creams. You never know with Bruce.
9 The Appetising
A return to form for the Boss ably assisted by the return of the E — Street — Band. The title track of the album stimulates our appetite in a way only the main man can do. Tasty.
10 Roll of The Rice
Bruce sings about a trip to an Indian restaurant for a lamb Rogan Josh, two poppadoms (with spice tray) and two pints of Cobra. The song tells of the protagonists arguing over whether to choose Pilau rice or plain boiled.
How he knows about a typical English Saturday night is beyond me but that’s the power of Bruce.
I realise this is another attempt to curry favour with other Springsteen fanatics such as Mark Holburn and Terry Barr, but that’s the way things are.
11 I Wish I Were Wined & Dined
And who doesn’t want this? Bruce gets to the nub of everyone’s desires in this in a way no other lyricist can. He could probably have added the names of several good wines I wish I could be wined with but I’m probably splitting hairs.
12 Adam Raised a Cane
It’s sage advice from the Boss to suggest we grow our own food to save the planet. Here we meet Adam, one of the many characters he’s invented to tell his stories and who’s growing cane in his back garden.
I would have chosen something other than sugar to grow but I’m sure Bruce had his reasons.
13 There Goes My Treacle
We’ve all been there. You’re looking enviously at the treacle pie being passed around the family dinner table. But then it gets to your uncle who shovels what remains onto his plate. You’re left with nothing.
Don’t you just hate it when that happens?
14 Born In The Beaujolais
And to round things off, one of The Boss’s signature tunes about being born in this wonderful wine region of France. A lot of people believe the lyrics are far deeper and more complex than merely a celebration of being a native of this incredible area.
It’s not, it’s about wine and getting drunk.
14 Songs about food and drink
Only The Beatles can match Bruce Springsteen’s output on food and drink with masterpieces such as Hey Food, Fruit Fool On The Hill, The Ballad of John and Cocoa and Get Snack.
Why not join in with Nichola’s fun prompt and let us know about your 14 songs about food? Even if, like me, you have to stretch things a tad.
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